Southern California -- this just in

Amanda Bynes' alleged hit-and-run case goes to court Thursday

September 27, 2012 | 8:02
am

Actress Amanda Bynes is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in connection with two alleged hit-and-run car accidents.

Bynes' case is set to be heard in a Van Nuys courthouse this morning, though it is unclear whether she will attend. It is also possible a lawyer could enter a plea on her behalf because it is a misdemeanor case.

The charges are related to crashes on April 10 and Aug 4. 2012, said
city
attorney spokesman Frank Manteljan. Byrnes faces a possible sentence of six months in jail for
each count, if convicted. The file on the April incident was reopened
after the August crash.

The LAPD's Valley Traffic Division investigated the Aug. 4 incident on Ventura Boulevard, in which a motorist
claims a vehicle driven by Bynes rear-ended and damaged her Toyota. The
driver said Bynes stopped only briefly, declared there was no damage
and drove off.

The woman told investigators her car was damaged and that Bynes
failed to provide insurance information or allow police to be called
before she left, said Lt. Andrew Neiman of the Los Angeles Police
Department.

Bynes, 26, later told investigators that she and the woman mutually agreed there was
no significant damage after the low-speed collision, police said.

Neiman said investigators determined that the Toyota had about $800
in damage, and that the actress did not notify police or exchange
insurance information as required by law.

The case is the third brush with the law for Bynes this year. She was
charged with driving under the influence after her arrest in April, when
she allegedly struck an L.A. County sheriff's cruiser.

She was arrested about 3 a.m. April 6 near the corner of Robertson
and Santa Monica boulevards in West Hollywood after her black BMW
allegedly hit the rear corner of the sheriff's vehicle.

Bynes denied the allegations. "I can't help but laugh at all of you
writing fake stories about me," she wrote May 27. "I was not in any hit
and runs. I don't drink so the DUI is false."

Bynes is also charged with refusing a sobriety test.

Police said the actress was also involved in a minor traffic incident in May. And more recently, she was charged with driving on a suspended license.